Just a wolf in sheep's clothing?

This is installment two in my series searching for redeeming qualities in those macrobrews attempting to cut into the craft beer market.

Shock Top Belgian White
Bottle -- Pop's Liquors, Easton
purchased at my fiance's request for something "fruity and drinkable." she always enjoys the different blueberry beers, but as always, i thought i would try to streach her beer horizon's... kind of. as mentioned before, shocktop belgian white is a slickly marketed orange-flavored witbier put out by budweiser. cloudy and pale orange in color. mild fruity aroma, but it is in the taste that the orange really comes out. yeast does stick out as in most
witbier's, but otherwise just a watery brew. blah.
Score: 3

Verdict: Just a wolf in sheep's clothing.

My First Homebrews

This was a difficult post for me to write... best evidenced by the fact that it took me four months to finalize it. I know some of you were curious to see how my first batches turned out so I promise not to wait so long to rate the next one (its an IPA aged in wood chips!) Anyways, homebrewing is quite easy and a whole lot of fun! Highly recommended. That said, I still have a lot to learn. I think it will be interesting to document my progress as a brewer (assuming there is progress...) on this blog. If you think homebrewing is something you might like to try, you can read my post about brewing for the first time here. Okay, here were my three first homebrews!

The-Waiting-Is-The-Hardest-Part Pale Ale
Bottle -- Brockton, MA
my first homebrew! mistakes were made (both the thermometer and hydrometer were broken...) but the final product was a drinkable beer! which of course, is where the name for the beer came from; brewing was easy, waiting was the hardest part! i think the label was an instant classic: my assistant brewer dan trying to drink the wort as i restrained him... inevitably this will be the creative high-water mark of my brewing career. anyways, pour is a translucent golden/copper... perfect one-finger off-white head... healthy carbonation, and retains head to very bottom... aroma dominated by sweet malts, but quite a few earthy hops emerge too... flavor of sweet, caramel malts... grassy hops in background of taste... not quite as bitter as i like in my pale ales, but still a good flavor... smooth, slightly grainy mouthfeel... packs a surprising punch -- this has to be pushing 5.5% ABV... very sessionable though... of the beers i have brewed this is definitely the favorite among my friends. a total, and unabashed success!
Appearance: 4/5, Aroma: 6/10, Flavor: 7/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 12/20, Total: 3.2
Score: 7

Promised Land Porter
Bottle -- Brockton, MA
my second beer was brewed with friends before we went to see bruce springsteen, and so the name of this beer came from my favorite song of the show. you can see the label is supposed to be the promsied land: a field full of hops. and while this porter didn't turn out quite as hoppy as i like my porters (think smuttynose's robust porter...) i truly enjoyed it. pours into a mug as a dark mahogany-brown and cola-like in appearance. healthy, frothy head with very good retention. heavy roastiness dominates aroma with a few earthy hops in background. roasted malts carry through to flavor. bitterness is certainly present, along with a little sourness. i drink this beer nearly at room temp so flavor softens a bit as you drink. goes down very smooth. i like this beer, but porters -- as one of my very favorite styles -- i hold to a higher standard. i will be taking another shot at the style very soon.
Appearance: 4/5, Aroma: 6/10, Flavor: 6/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 11/20, Total: 3.0
Score: 6

You're So Vain... You Probably Think This Stout is About You!
Bottle -- Brockton, MA
this beer was brewed for my dad on his 60th birthday... which made its failure that much more tragic. as my friend dan was all too eager to tell me: i got cocky. i decided to try a mostly grain recipe without fully appreciating how much more difficult it was. the margin of error here was off the charts: i tried to get all of the sugars out of the grain but i know i didn't, the yeast was left unrefrigerated, and i bottled the beer without adding priming sugar... having to open each one and add the sugar. oi. while none of these bottles exploded, they were unquestionably over-carbonated, erupting out of the bottle with huge churning heads. aroma is incredibly sour, with off putting earthiness. add to that a muddled burtness and you have a taste that leads you to the inevitable drain pour. a total loss.
Appearance: 2/5, Aroma: 1/10, Flavor: 2/10, Palate: 2/5, Overall: 3/20, Total: 1.0
Score: 1

Shipyard Pugsley's Signature Series

Well, I've got a special post for all of you today. Shipyard Brewing has put out a new line of beers called Pugsley's Signature Series, after their master brewer, Alan Pugsley of England. Now Shipyard is a longtime favorite (being the first craft beer I ever tried) but by starting this series out with a barley wine and an imperial porter -- two of my very favorite styles -- Shipyard appears to be charting a new and exciting course for their brewery! And thanks to my father's friend Tami at Shipyard, I was able to try each of these newly released beers down here in Massachusetts. Thank you, Shipyard!

Shipyard Barley Wine Style Ale
750 ml -- Shipyard Brewery, Portland, ME
first off: awesome label. details different types of malts and hops, the temperature the beer should be served at, and the point of origination (something all brewers should do...) shockingly dark for a barley wine; mahogany in color really, with lacing that spiderwebs the whole way down. alcohol in aroma crowds out some of the floral hops and dark fruit. taste is bitter with flavors of coffee, molasses, and alcohol to follow. distinctive english ringwood yeast peaks through as well. smooth mouthfeel that coats throat. this is a strong, bold beer, both in terms of the alcohol (8.5% abv) and flavors. aging would probably mellow this beer out a little... something i may have to try.
Appearance: 4/5, Aroma: 7/10, Flavor: 8/10, Palate: 4/5, Overall: 12/20, Total: 3.5
Score: 7

Shipyard Imperial Porter
750 ml -- Shipyard Brewery, Portland, ME
style also referred to as a baltic porter after the strong porters that were brewed for shipping across the north sea. deep ruby brown pour into my snifter glass. solid carbonation that leaves neat ring of lacing. just like the barley wine, aroma is mainly of alcohol... molasses and cocoa too. big coffee taste, smokiness, and bittersweet chocolate. creamy mouthfeel, slightly buttery, dries palate. full-bodied. very enjoyable and a great example of baltic porters. pick these up if you can find them!
App: 4/5, Aro: 7/10, Flv: 8/10, Pal: 3/5, Ovr: 14/20, Tot: 3.7
Score: 8

Beer 101: Proper Glassware

Proper glassware. To most people, what glass you drink a beer in probably seems silly. But really, proper glassware is one of my favorite things about drinking beer. After all, isn't drinking craft beer all about the experience? And I find using different types of glasses -- I use mugs, pilsner glasses, oversized wine glasses, pint glasses, snifters, and weizen glasses -- to be a lot of fun.

Not to mention the fact that proper glassware makes good beer better, shining its true color, releasing different aromas and tastes. Actually, four of the five categories that you rate beer on (appearance, smell, taste, and overall impression) are directly affected by pouring a beer into the proper glassware. Now I won't go so far as to promise that laser etchings will provide a constant release of aroma (but Jim Koch will!), but appropriate glassware definitely adds to the experience.

Beer Advocate does a better job that I ever could with their article about proper glassware, outlining the ten main styles of glassware and the benefits of using each. What I'd like to do here is provide a general cheat cheat of the 20 major styles of beer and which types of glassware are most appropriate. I would recommend at least going over to Crate & Barrel to pick up the proper glassware for your favorite style -- you won't regret it!

Amber / Red Ale -- Pint, Mug
Barleywine -- Snifter, Pint
Belgians -- Snifter, Goblet
Bitter / ESB -- Mug, Pint
Blonde Ale -- Pint, Mug
Bock -- Pilsner, Flute
Brown Ale -- Mug, Pint
Fruit Beer -- Pint, Mug
Hefeweizen -- Weizen
Imperial IPA -- Snifter, Tulip
Imperial Stout -- Pint, Oversized Wine Glass
India Pale Ale -- Pint, Mug
Lager -- Pilsner, Pint
Oktoberfest -- Mug, Pint
Pale Ale -- Pint, Mug
Pilsner -- Pilsner, Stange
Porter -- Pint, Mug
Scotch Ale (Wee Heavy) -- Pint, Tulip
Stout -- Pint, Mug
Strong Ale -- Snifter, Chalice

Two Pleasant Surprises

Here are two instant favorites... neither of which I had particularly high expectations for.

Albany Pump Station Evans Extra Stout

Growler -- C.H. Evans Brewing Co, Albany, NY

thanks are in order to leanne and ryan for surprising me with a growler of this extra stout from the evans brewing company brewpub at the albany pump station. it came in the coolest growler i have ever seen... the handle looked like a gargoyle or something and will definitely be used again repeatedly for my homebrews. dark pour with subdued head, and aroma of coffee and unmistakable vanilla. assertive java taste, bittering hops, and dark fruit. i equated the dark fruit to cough syrup, which angered several of my friends, but was not meant as an insult. quite dry, but otherwise a very unique extra stout. what a great find! i will certainly be refilling my growler on my next pass through albany!

Score: 9

Concord Junction Porter

Bottle -- Luke's, Rockland

i had tried two concord beers before this with mixed results. the brewery has closed down however, so i thought i would try this porter before it was too late. i am glad i did! overly-carbonated, with an uncontainable billowy head. rich coffee aroma. taste is quite sweet with hops relegated to rounding out taste; both fit absolutely perfectly in this beer. coffee and chocolate in taste are very smooth. full flavor unfolds at very end of taste, along with a nice roastiness. i don't know what the abv is, but more alcohol emerges as it warms to room temp... surprisingly creamy mouthfeel for a porter. wow, what a gem this beer is! i may have to buy out the remaining stock from concord brewery next time i am at luke's in rockland...

Score: 10